I’ve been leading a particular project for over a year now, with no breaks.  The big go-live date is this Thursday.  There’s a few loose threads but nothing too big.  Like most large projects.  I’ll explain what it is in a few weeks, so as not to jinx anything.

The kicker in this one is that it’s a project I’ve been trying to implement for years, and one that I am quite vested in its success.  I work for a group that doesn’t have the best of reputations and has a more corporate view of change.  In other words, the change we traditionally bring is more overhead, not something people are exactly clamoring for.  This project, it’s different.  Those that have been on the pilot have had nothing but positive feedback and wanting to accelerate the schedule.  Good stuff, generally.

The side effect of a large project, with high demand, is a lot of stress.  I’ve taken a better approach at managing this over the years.  I delegate what I can, prioritize the work, re-scope/focus the team.  I’ve really lucked out at the quality of the individuals on this project, though truthfully I’ve just used amazing references and keeners to get this far.  Still, the stress is there and I can feel it gradually pulling me down into exhaustion.

Family life has been good and busy.  It’s motivating to work hard when you know you have a good spot to go home to after the day is done.  The outdoor rink was built over the weekend.  3 hours of cutting, 1 hour of setup, with a team effort.  I’m quite happy with what’s there and I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time out there this winter.

Side note – my wife is rather empathetic to my stress, and naturally worried about my health.  I usually crash during the holiday break, the body just has had enough.  Then there’s a dozen activities with friends and family.  I recharge by being alone/small group, so this isn’t exactly restful.  I proposed simple skipping it all and heading down south.  She called the bluff (which in hindsight wasn’t a bluff) and booked something within a couple days. Awesome wife.

Long rambling post to say that I feel somewhat frayed.  I know the people I work with are doing a super job and that once this is done, it will be a highlight for everyone’s career, and have a dramatic impact on hundreds of thousands of people.  I know that I will crash something fierce when the stress is gone.  I just hope that it’s in that order.